The Bluff
by Fit4aking
Summary: Jacob has been in love with Bella for as long as he can remember. For one brief instant she shows interest and Jake decides to test her true feelings. After an entire night together he needs to know if there's a future between them.
1. Chapter 1

**Jacob and Bella: FanFiction**

**Chapter 1: The Bluff.**

(Picks up at the end of Chapter 21 in Stephanie Meyer's, Eclipse. Written from Jacobs perspective.)

Anger tore through me as I overheard every word Bella and Edward shared. I shouldn't have been listening but I thought there was an ounce of her that would want me over him. She was so peaceful in my arms last night, so comfortable wrapped up next to me, there had to be a connection in there somewhere. My Bella loved me. I thought she did at least, but here she was forfeiting her life for the terms of Edward's engagement. Marriage wasn't what she wanted, I knew what she wanted, what she needed, and this wasn't it. A tortured howl was the best I could muster before removing myself from the equation once again. The woods surrounded me and I narrowly dodged each tree, each branch grazing my pelt as a reminder that I could still feel.

The rambling of the pack echoed in my head. All of the last minute preparations were falling into place. I was the interruption. The second I phased I could tell that each of them felt my pain. They were reliving every moment of my time with Bella as I did. They had to endure the shot to the heart I felt when I learned that she was to marry the leech. A second of silence reverberated in my head and I could see clearly where everyone was at that moment. Sam's words broke in and I knew they were meant for me.

"Jacob, pull your self together and be ready. Your reckless decisions affect more than just you."

"I'll be right there." I would have forced it through my teeth if he wasn't in my head. He had to have known of my plans to sacrifice myself and he was right. There was no way to be sure my actions wouldn't end up hurting one of the others. This was bigger than me and Bella would be hurt even more if the toll on our side was too great.

I was in the clearing in seconds. Leah and Sam were waiting as expected and the Cullen's were huddled near the edge of the woods, probably having one last blood sucking pow wow before things hit the fan. Alice stood in the middle obviously lost in one of her trances but she seemed calm so everything was likely still in order. I took my place at Sam's side and waited silently as he barked orders. Leah and I broke from him and took our station at the head of the trail to the campsite. Bella's last line of defense if all else fails. Leah just sat glaring at me, she had to endure my visions like the others and I knew it was the hardest on her being the only female. She didn't say a word but as she stared past me I could tell that something was coming. Rising to her feet I knew it was close and I too stood, ready to attack, as Edward appeared along the trail. He was at full stride with a determined look on his face and heading straight for me. In an instant Leah was by my side, ears folded back, crouched and ready.

"She wants to see you," he forced out before he even stopped. "Bella needs to talk to you. Alice says there's plenty of time but you have to hurry."

Without so much as a thought I was off. Sam was in my head before I left the trail. His disappointment was abundantly clear but he understood my need to see her and was already shifting the others around to cover my absence. Edward was at my flank and was keeping pace well for only having two feet. We tore through the forest floor on the straightest path. I followed his horrid scent all the way back to the tent site. Seth was ready to pounce as we broke the woods edge in a lunge.

"It's just us, Seth" I was in human form and standing in my sweats only feet from the tent when Bella emerged not wearing my jacket. The pained look in her eyes let on that whatever she had to say was digging at her deeper than I originally thought. Her pacing and glances between me and Edward gave only a glimpse of hope that her request had to do with both of us. I waited while Bella and Edward shared a kiss and my body tensed when he passed me with a smug look on his cold face. This was a goodbye and he knew it. She pulled me all the way back here to tell me in person everything I already knew. My Bella would never do that, intentionally hurt me like this, knowing I was to rush off and defend all that she holds dear the second she pushes me out of her life for good. My Bella wasn't that mean. My Bella wouldn't give up so easily.

"Just say the words and be done with it." I snapped to hurry the let down along.

"I'm sorry I'm such a rotten person," her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I'm sorry I've been so selfish. I wish I'd never met you, so I couldn't hurt you the way I have. I won't do it anymore, I promise. I'll stay far away from you. I'll move out of the state. You won't have to look at me ever again."

"That's not much of an apology," I scoffed.

"Tell me how to……." I broke in before she could finish the sentence she was struggling to force past her lips.

"You don't have to do anything, you don't have to say anything, I know." My eyes were intent on hers and if I could have killed her with a look I was trying. "You're off to marry Vamp Charming when this is all over. You're going to give up on your life to follow him and all of his conditions." My tone was begging for a reaction. "He's been dragging you along for months Bella. Slowly making you the person he wants, I barely recognize you." Taking her arm in my hand I lifted her wrist to point out the overly large diamond that hung on my bracelet. "My Bella wouldn't have 3 carats worth of diamonds dangling from her arms. My Bella wouldn't…" I stopped before I said something I really didn't mean.

"It was wrong of me to stay with you when we wanted such different things. It's not going to get any better, Jake. I'll just keep hurting you. I don't want to hurt you anymore. I hate it." I could hear her voice break and I wondered who I was talking to, my Bella or some new version.

I stood motionless, thinking to myself. I couldn't even look at her. I've never been that angry at anyone, not a day in my life. I was stuck here with absolute hate in my heart for Edward, and such disdain toward the girl that I'd loved for so many years. I pulled my head up quickly.

"Than don't worry about hurting me. I'll see to it that my pain doesn't rest on your shoulders. Don't think that I don't have a say in how this ends Bella. You're not the only one capable of self-sacrifice." I spoke with absolute certainty. If I had just been kicking the idea around before I was positive that now was the time to put that crazy plan into motion.

"What?"

"I could have been easier on you Bells. I knew you were his when Edward came back and I pushed you this entire time. You're not the only one that's caused hurt here."

"This is my fault."

"Not everything is your burden to bear. I can make it up to you. There's no need for you to cut me out of your life." The thought sent sparks up my spine but it's the easiest way for her. I'll be gone and the new Bella can start living like I don't exist.

"What are you talking about"

Clueless as ever or just playing coy, I'm going to have to lay it out for her plainly. She really must not be in her right mind, this isn't so difficult to grasp. "There's a serious fight brewing at the head of the trail. Any number of things could go wrong and I can't say it'll work out in my favor. One wrong decision and I'm out of the picture. Who's to say I don't make the call for you and let one of the newborns have some glory."

She stood motionless for a minute, taking it all in or working up her reaction, never once taking a breath. Her face changed from fret to horror and as her eyes sank she took a half step toward me before she caught herself.

"No." She struggled to get one single word out but the thought of my demise had at least gained me a half step back towards me. Her slight motion proved that I was where she would look to for comfort. In the face of loss she was again turning to me.

"You can't stop me Bella, things happen." I brushed it off as though it may just happen whether or not I intend it to.

"Jacob, I'm begging you, don't go. Stay with me!"

Her pleads tugged at my heart. I wanted to hear those words but I had to pry them out of her. She wasn't speaking freely here. She was desperate and likely just reverting back to her newfound selfishness.

"You want me to sit here with you and miss a good brawl? Why? So the second you think I'm safe you can crawl back into his arms. You're funny."

"I won't run away. I've changed my mind. We'll work something out. Jacob. There's always a compromise. Don't go!"

"Compromise. I don't want to work something out Bella. We've already worked it out. Everything was in place until he came back. I only want you back. My Bella, back where she was. Safe and sound with me."

"Please." Her tone changed from simple pleading to near begging.

I had all but given up. This was going nowhere fast and she could stall me with rhetoric and leading conversation while the rest were left to fight without Edward and me. I had to go back, it had to be time by now. I turned to walk back to the path. I should have phased back by now at least to see how things were coming alone. One last good bye.

"I love you, Bella."

"I love you, Jacob." Her whisper was cracked and nearly inaudible.

"I know. Better than you think I do."

I spun my head to continue along to the edge of the woods. I was leaving behind the object of my affection to throw my life away. I couldn't let her do it yet here I was heading off to lie down at the feet of a tribe of newborn vampires.

"Anything Jacob. Anything you want, just stay."

She blurted it out so quickly I barely believed her. I could just be hearing what I wanted but I spun around to catch her gaze once again. Seeing her standing there with pleading eyes caused me to let my guard down. If she was going to give me anything, I had to be ready to accept it. I took a few quick steps back to her and stood looking down over her. She'll prove that she still wants me and I will be sure of her intentions. All I have to do is ask.

"Kiss me. Prove to me that you mean it and I'll stay." I wrapped my arms around her and leaned in quickly. If she had time to think she'd have time to fake it. She called my bluff and gave me a taste of everything I had worked so hard for. Everything that she had given Edward so blindly. Her heart was placed gently into my hands for the sake of changing my mind. I should have seen that there were strings attached but I was blinded by the way those words rolled off of her tongue. She loved me. I loved her too, deeply. It wasn't to last, those same strings were what she used to pull her heart back into Edwards hands. Again. She pulled away and I knew exactly where I stood. She needed me but I wasn't going to take his place, I was the fill in.

"I can't be that guy anymore, Bella. It's all or nothing. If Edward's everything to you than he'd better step up and fill that role. I can't be everything he's not only to end up as nothing to you in the end."

My hands fell from her waist and I let everything that could have been fall away with them. Nothing she could say would keep me here. Not now. My place was with the pack, Sam's pack, and I'm not about to let them down. I'd suffered enough defeat today and the fight is the one thing I need to have redemption. Without as much as another glace I turned and headed toward the path. I leapt across the line of bushes into the woods and allowed my last set of clothes to tear to shreds when I phased. I wouldn't need them anymore.

Just a few yards into the woods Seth and Edward were still working things out with the others. It was almost time and as I strode closer to them all I could do was glare into Edward's eyes. I'm sure he was reading my mind, everyone was reading my mind. I only hoped that the pack was too distracted to pay much attention and they would leave my thoughts to me for a while. Sam began to restructure the group once again as there was no need to cover my absence. I took off as fast as I could toward the entrance of the path that had led me back to Bella. It was now just a path to nowhere and no one. My Bella was gone and some different version was all that remained. Edward knew she was alone and unprotected. He sprinted in the opposite direction with a snarl on his face and a smug glint in his eye. Between him and Alice they had to know how this would turn out.

"There's only a few more minutes until they get here." Sam broke in as soon as he got word from Alice's latest vision. "I can smell them already."

I stepped up my pace and the ground below faded into a blur. The adrenaline was coursing in anticipation. It added to the anger and my newfound desire to shred vampires limb from limb.

Leah was waiting, sitting on her back legs, right where I had left her. She didn't say a word, not ever a whimper, she just looked at me with those eyes of hers.

"What?" I broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Her."

"I know." My eyes hit the ground as I hung my shoulders.

"It's about time."

"Yeah, I know that too." I looked back up across the clearing Sam had been counting down the minutes and they were getting close.

"Not them, her. It's about time you figured it out."

"She made it perfectly clear."

"But you're not seeing it that way." She seemed to taunt me with her tone. Damn pack mind it's impossible to hide anything when I'm like this.

"She's different now. I can see that plain enough." I still hadn't said the words but even thinking them again made me angry.

"Yet you still think she's in there just waiting for you to pull her out."

"Aren't I supposed to." My head snapped up to meet her glare. "Pull her out."

"You said she made it perfectly clear."

"My Bella wouldn't have let things end like that." I snapped at her.

"Your Bella," Leah perked up one ear and cocked her head to the side. "You were talking to his Bella. Look around, Jake. Do you think all of this would be happening over your Bella?"

"Victoria would still be after her."

"But we would be on the reservation, on our land. It would be our fight."

"This is our fight!" I forced a harsher tone with that than I should have.

"And theirs." Leah nodded over towards the Cullen's. "They came back just like Edward did."

I couldn't refute that. All of them had come back. All I could do was huff through my nostrils.

"She is who she is Jake. Just like you. You are who you are."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Again I snapped at her.

"You can't change her Jacob." She matched me thought for thought.

"I changed. I was what I was until I became……this." I looked down at my red fur and four legs then back up at Leah. "Even now I'm not who I'm supposed to be….."

"That was your choice," She cut me off before I could finish the sentence. "This is hers."

She was right. It still hurt and I answered her with the flash of my teeth and a snarl.

"Some things just can't be undone." Leah ended our conversation by turning away and leaving her last thought to linger in my head.

I tried to catch a moments rest but before I even took a breath the first wave of newborns broke into the clearing just as Alice had predicted.

Jasper was right, they were wild, unorganized, out of control and violent. They fanned out over the clearing and seemed almost lost as the Cullen's spread out to face them head on. We stood on either flank and started to pick them off one by one. Emmett was a man possessed and tore through handfuls of them often pulling them in and toying with them before dismembering them quickly. Jasper was militant in his approach, every move he had shown us during training was flawlessly repeated over and over with great success. Alice darted around on wings, barely touching the ground, as she spun between the approaching swarm. If death could be graceful and swift she could pull it off.

Everyone knew what to do and the inexperienced batch of bloodsuckers fell quickly. It seemed like they had been ordered to attack everywhere at once to find any weakness, or to pinpoint any place that was more guarded than the others, but it didn't last long. Victoria never followed, never led, she never even showed up. Without a leader to reorganize the flock the newborns were left to determine their own marching orders. Immediately some of them fled. The temptation to track them down and rip them apart was immense but Sam gave strict orders to not leave the clearing. If they ran, we let them.

The first wave ended up in a pile and the second batch didn't fare any better. We had driven the front line nearly across the clearing and were holed up in a barricade as the number of fresh leeches started to dwindle. It was a game to see who would step out first to take them down. Emmet and Jasper were quick to go on Alice's command but Quil and Embry made sure to get in on the action. Behind us Esme and Carlisle already started to burn the pieces and the stench was unbearable. Only the prospect of crushing more of their hard-skinned bodies kept me in focus.

Leah disappeared from my side and started toward the path too quickly. Something was wrong. I was barely on her heels when the shrill screech of another newborn broke the rush of air in my ears.

"Leah, wait!" She didn't stop and I winced as I took off after her.

She was the only one faster than me and I couldn't catch her in time to help. The pair faced off immediately and it wasn't going well for her. The leech was backed into a hole with nothing to lose and she was there broadcasting to the rest of us that she had something to prove.

"You boys aren't the only one's that get to have all the fun."

She barely finished the thought when the blood sucker made his Hail Mary move. She couldn't see it coming but it was clear to me what his intentions were.

"LEAH!"

All I could do was lunge at her. I pushed her out of the way and tried to pull off some kind of landing. I had to buy a little time and finish off the last of the leeches without anyone getting hurt. Intense pain broke into my side as we collided and I'm sure I yelped in pain. I don't remember hitting the ground. I only remember the gasps from the pack as everything went dark.

* Contains several direct quotes from Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. This was necessary to begin the split between her work and my change in her already established plot. This was intentional and in no way meant to be considered as completely original.


	2. Chapter 2

**Jacob and Bella: FanFiction**

**Chapter 2: Pain**

"JAKE!" Sam stood over me with a worried look on his face. "You have to change back. Come on Jake, change back."

He looked away and Carlisle's face appeared in his place. He looked me over quickly. "You'll be fine. You're already starting to heal." Reaching over me he tugged at Sam for help. "We've got to get him changed back, I'm no Vet. If he's healing and his bones aren't set right ….." I faded out as he continued what he was doing. I must have been in shock, or dying, because I didn't feel anything but the weight of my body against the ground. Breathing was difficult and I was out again before I knew it.

A rush of air in my face brought me back. I could still see everyone, I hadn't changed. The whole pack was around watching as Dr Cullen did the best he could for me. I could feel his cold hands on my pelt, beyond that I was too out of it to know what was happening. "Leah…." I tried to ask how she was but I already knew, she was standing close and very much okay. A sense of panic tore through the group and they all turned away.

"She's here!" Seth broke in and I knew Bella was in trouble. My first instinct was to get up, I tried to move but nothing worked. Carlisle and Esme did their best to keep me still as Quil and Embry shot off toward the path. Jasper, Emmet and Alice were on their heels as they disappeared into the forest. Bella wouldn't want me to help, she had her Edward to protect her. That was her decision, clear as day, and she would have to live or die by it. I found the energy to phase back and the pain shot though me as everything fell back into place. The crunch of bones rang in my ears and I rolled onto my back in agony.

"Get him home!" Carlisle broke in with urgency. "I'll be right behind you, go now!" He and Esme were off in an instant. I must have been worse off than he thought. From the sound of it I was hurt bad but all I could feel was pain. Sam scooped me up and I fought to find my breath. Again I tried to speak but only a garbled gasp escaped my mouth.

"Shhh," Leah peered over to try and calm me down. "Come on Jake just stay quiet. You can thank me for saving you later."

I doubt I even gave her a look because I was in my own bed the next time my eyes opened. Billy sat across from me in his chair and Carlisle was leaning over me putting his little black medical bag in order.

"Feeling better I hope." He said with a confident smile. "You're running a bit of a fever, one hundred and ten, and most of your bones are set and healing well. The pain medicine should keep you from feeling too much but I can't tell if the doses are right. There's no text book on this." He shrugged with a grin. "Bella will be glad to hear that your awake, I'll pass along the good news to her. We we're all a bit worried about you. I'll be back to check on you tonight. Try not to move too much."

He patted me on the shoulder, grabbed his things and stood for the door. Before he pulled it closed behind him, Dr. Cullen nodded to Billy. "Keep him still if you can, wouldn't want to reset any of those breaks."

"Thank you Dr. Cullen," was all he said before Carlisle was gone. Having him on the reservation was odd but the lines had been blurred for a while now and anything was possible. Billy wheeled himself over to the edge of the bed to look over me for a minute in silence. I knew he had a lot to say but it was hard to know where to start.

"Everyone's come by to see if you're doing okay. You slept for two days straight. Dr. Cullen has been here every twelve hours like clock work. Sam and the boys have stopped by and I told them you were sleeping. I'm sure they'll be back again today." It seems like he's delivering messages instead of talking to me. He's beating around the bush to something and I'm sure I won't like it. "You did a noble thing. Looking out for your pack is what leaders do. You're a leader even if you don't see it. Do the right thing and take your place as the Alpha. You'll have plenty of time to work these things out while you rest."

He put his hands onto the wheels to roll his self out into the living room and was nearly out the door before I could speak. Conversation was never our strong suit and now that I couldn't avoid it there was nothing to do but finally get everything sorted out. At least he wasn't shy about his opinions and I knew what was really bothering him.

"Sam was first to change. He's the alpha, it's his place." He stopped in his tracks and sighed before spinning around to look at me with his piercing eyes. Regardless of who's grandfather was the last real chief, Sam changed first and that had to mean something.

"One of these days you'll learn to fight for what's yours instead of accepting things for what they are." He turned back to the hallway and faded out the door.

His words stung, but I wasn't strong enough to argue. Every inch of me ached and I needed sleep before the painkillers wore off. I rolled over and tried desperately to get comfortable, a few restless minutes later I was fading off into my thoughts. Bella and the rest of the Cullen's were off doing what bloodsuckers do. The pack was still together, hanging around my house instead of on patrols, and I was the one suffering in the middle. Bella had kept her engagement from me. She had intended to marry Edward with or without my opinion and I couldn't do anything to sway her decision. Sam was the alpha, even though it was my place. I had played a pawn in the whole situation between the Cullen's and the pack with Victoria. Working to keep both sides in harmony long enough to see that Bella was safe, only to find out that she was running off to be with someone else, forever. I hardly fit on either side of the dividing line now. With peace between our side and theirs, the pack could shrink down and no one would mind if I never phased back again. Bella wouldn't need me any more. I wasn't going to be her option. She had everything she needed with Edward. Sam and the pack were stronger now and there was little need for me to stay with no conflict between us and the Cullen's any longer. Things would just go back to normal, for everyone else at least. I would be starting over.

Usually it was the sound of the gang invading the house that broke my slumber or the hunger pangs, but today, well tonight, it was silence. The announcer's voice abruptly stopped and I could hear a light rapping on the screen door. Creaking on the floor meant that Billy was on the move. I was still too sore to get out of bed but he would surely turn whoever it was away. I tried to pull myself up to my elbows but the pain in my side was creeping back and I hoped that it would be Carlisle to refresh the meds. Falling back into the bed I pulled my pillow up over my head and sighed with a huff. I'd never been this hurt for this long. I must have taken a pretty hard hit to not be healed after nearly 3 days. Billy made no attempt to keep quiet and I could hear the spring on the front door creak as he welcomed someone inside. I pulled the pillow off to try and hear if it was Carlisle when I heard the joy in Billy's voice.

"I didn't expect to see you here Bella, come on in. I'm sure Jacob would love to see you." He let the door creak with a thud as is closed against the wooden frame. "He's still resting in his room." Again the sound of his wheelchair on the floorboards was all the warning I would have that he was on the move.

I lay still in my bed waiting for him to lead her back to me. Surely she would just have come by to see that I was okay or to show off some spectacular engagement ring. Everything that could have been said was said in the forest. I hardly see the point of another good bye. As I was lost in a thought I didn't notice that the creaking of the floor had stopped. My head flopped against the pillow and I heard Billy start in on her.

"With everything that's happened I'm happy to see that you haven't forgotten about your friends. I think Jacob's missed having you around too." It was clear that he wasn't going to hold back. If I could get up I'd either head out there to stop him or run and hide.

"Um, … yeah. It's been kind of crazy lately." How cruel of my imagination to picture Bella standing there with an uncomfortable smile on her face.

"Jake will be glad to have a visitor Bella. He's always happiest when you come around." Billy was laying it on pretty thick and I was embarrassed already.

"You think he's still asleep." Her footsteps started down the hall and it was clear that she had enough of Billy's interrogation.

I decided to wait for her to push the door open before rolling over. Didn't want her to think I was waiting for her or anything. She stood in the doorway for a second, I could hear her heart beating in her chest, at least she was still alive. I rolled over as she stepped in and stood at the foot of my bed. The apologetic look on her face spoke volumes.

"I'm sorry Jacob."

"I'm tired of hearing of how sorry you are Bella." Seeing her again only refueled the anger that had been brewing since she forced me away from her. "I'm fine by the way. I didn't do anything stupid, things just have a way of working out so that I end up getting hurt."

"Stop it Jake, I didn't come here to fight." She snapped right back at me, she was prepared for this.

"Then you came to gloat some more." I leaned up on my elbows, fighting back the pain, and held my hand out towards her. "Well, let's see it. The ring, come on. I'll bet it's spectacular. It probably blinded you into all of his silly conditions."

"You know me better than that. I don't need presents. They mean so little to me. They're just things." Her voice went from anger to apathy.

"I hardly know you at all Bella. You've changed. He's changed you." This didn't seem like the same girl I knew.

"You changed me too Jake. Don't sit here and play ignorant like he's the only one that's affected me." She looked half miserable as she sat down on the edge of the bed and twirled her bracelet around her wrist. She ripped my heart out and then came here looking for sympathy.

"I helped you when he left. I brought you back. Where would you be if we hadn't spent our time together? Probably still stuck in your room shutting everyone out."

"You don't know what it's like Jake. He…"

"I'm starting to learn exactly what it's like Bella." Her stunned gasp signaled that she wasn't quite expecting me to have honestly had feelings for her. "To love someone and have to watch them leave. You're the one that doesn't know what it's like. After you run off with prince charming, the girl I know isn't coming back. That change can't be undone. I'm losing you forever. I've already lost most of the Bella I knew. You might as well just go and let him take the rest of you."

"You're being unreasonable." Her voice rang out softly. "I wanted to stop in and see my friend, not start an argument.

"I know you just came to check in on me. I'm flattered. Now that you've seen for yourself that I didn't throw it all away are you happy? To think I was ready to sacrifice myself for you when all you would do is run off with him anyway. I guess us dogs are just too loyal for our own good." Being bitter with her isn't supposed to be this easy but she was leaving me for Edward. I had already lost her.

"Don't be like this Jake. I need you." She didn't even look at me when she spoke. Saying the words I'd heard over and over again tore at my heart. She did need me but for all the wrong reasons.

"How can you say that to me? Every time I've tried to make you deal with your feelings for me you run back to him. He has you in a cage Bella." I sat up through the pain to look her in the eyes. "You used to sit for hours and watch me work on my beat up old car and our bikes. Now you're parading around in some of the most expensive cars this town has ever seen. You were adventurous and daring and fun. Where's that girl? Your shielded away, protected, when you don't have to be. All of this can't be what you want. If you'd given me half the chance that you gave him, just let me into your heart a little, I'd show you that you don't have to change to have love."

"I'm glad you're okay." She slid from the edge of the bed and looked off to the hall. "I'm sorry, for everything."

Bella disappeared down the hall and out the front door. I shouldn't be surprised to see her leave. She was good at running back to Edward when I tried to get close and crawling back to me when he pushed her away. When Carlisle arrives he won't have anything in his bag of tricks to ease the pain I'm in.

I hardly noticed the pain before but the second I flopped down on the bed a sharp reminder shot up my side. The feeling of confinement was clear, I couldn't do anything but lay here until everything was healed and back in place. Billy seemed like he wanted to be the next person to take full advantage of my situation today and the unmistakable sound of his chair against the old floor signaled his intentions once again.

"Jake." His stern voice broke into the room faster than he could.

"Dad, I'd rather not talk about it right now." I started to roll over but it was clear that he had no intention of letting it go.

"You know what she has to go through to come here Jake and you run her out of here like that. With all the things you've said to her it's no wonder she runs back to him." Eavesdropping didn't have to be a hobby of his to hear all of our conversation but he was pretty good at it none the less.

"I can't believe I'm talking about my love life with you." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the thought of it. "It's over. She knows how I feel and she's made her decision. Not me, it never was me. She used me to bide her time until he came back and now she's off again."

"You've looked at her the same way since you were children. Don't think I never noticed. You can't toss that aside over a little competition."

"Not everything is a competition Dad. It's Bella we're talking about here not some thing I can win. She's going to follow her heart no matter how I try to appeal to it." I could tell that I was angry about it and taking it out on Billy.

"She shouldn't be with them Jake. She isn't one of them and it will cause more heartache if she follows through with this. Our treaty forbids it and the Elders won't sit back and watch our agreement be broken. No human blood can be shed on our land or theirs." I was getting the feeling that he knew more about our issues than he was letting on.

"She plans to leave with them to get around that." The anger had turned to disappointment and I realized that I couldn't stop her.

""That is far worse Jake. If they take her away from here they can never come back. She can never come back. We will always be here waiting."

"Then she really is leaving for good." Maybe she had just come here to say one last goodbye without her bloodsucking beau in range of my thoughts.

"I doubt she knows what she's giving up to become one of them."

"Like I knew what was happening when I changed!" It wasn't displaced anger that shot over to Billy this time. I was still bitter that there was no warning about my own change.

"You would have been better prepared had all of this not happened in the first place. Things happened a bit faster than expected, no one could have foreseen it." I knew he was right, nothing was normal. Even by wolf standards everything happened wrong.

"So he started all of this?"

"No, she did." Billy paused with a heavy sigh. "They did. When they started dating they were too close to the line of the treaty to not have our protectors waiting."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"It's clear how you feel about her. I can still see that look in your eye even today. As angry as you are, it's still there. So it's not hard for even an old man to see what should be." He knew that I had feelings for her, he'd seen it and I shouldn't have thought anything was hidden from him. Not after all that we had been through.

"She doesn't see it that way, not anymore. I doubt she ever saw me that way."

"If you keep trying to convince her like you just did, she never will."

He waited a minute but there was nothing I could say to refute the fact that I had given up. Too many times I did the noble thing and let her leave peacefully without begging her to stay. I always wanted her to stay and now it was too late. Billy rolled himself back out into the living room and I fell asleep to the sound of a ball game announcer calling plays.

It's amazing how fast a week passes by. I walked out of my room for the first time since the morning of the newborn battle to find Billy looking up at me in amazement.

"What?" was all I could muster as I looked back at him curiously.

"You're up!" he smiled, "I thought you'd be cooped up in there for at least a month."

I glared down over him as he spun and pushed off towards the living room. Even seeing me on my feet for the first time in a week wouldn't keep him from a Mariners game. I followed behind him and stretched my legs as I realized how little the house had changed since last I was here. Turning away guests obviously meant turning away help with chores.

"Guess I can stop turning away visitors now, huh?" Billy jokingly added as I headed into the kitchen to see if there was at least a care package in the refrigerator. The barren shelves were just a reminder that I was hungry. I needed to eat and not just a simple meal, I needed a feast. As I closed the door and stood up Billy was right on my heels. "I think I need to go get something to eat."

The stern look on his face gave me the impression that he had been waiting for me to come out before telling me something important.

"This came in the mail a few days ago. Part of it is addressed directly to you so I didn't open it." He pulled a very ornate envelope from the pocket of his chair. On the face was the most elegant handwriting I'd ever seen. I knew what it was immediately and I was glad he waited for me to heal before giving it to me. Had I really healed enough for this?

I slid the perfectly folded card out and on the front was the announcement news. They were engaged and now my Bella was gone. Inside of the card was a smaller envelope with different yet still overly intricate handwriting and on its cover was my name. It wasn't Bella's scribbles and it wreaked of Edward. I opened it and read the words that he had written down just for me.

_Jacob,_

_I'm breaking the rules by sending you this. She was afraid of hurting you, and she didn't want to make you feel obligated in any way. But I know, if things had gone the other way, I would have wanted the choice._

_I promise I'll take care of her, Jacob. Thank you – for her – for everything._

_Edward._

"Jake. You had to know that if you didn't do anything….."

I snarled at Billy's accusation that this could only be my fault. Dropping the stack of papers onto the kitchen table I walked toward the door. I could only keep my composure for so long until anger filled my body. Before I was off of the porch I lunged toward the woods, before I even hit the ground I could hear the pack reenter my mind.

* Contains several direct quotes from Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. This was necessary to begin the split between her work and my change in her already established plot. This was intentional and in no way meant to be considered as completely original.


End file.
